Jackets Travel to Northwest Nazarene for Key Conference Series

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings baseball team wraps up its season-opening 21-game road swing at Northwest Nazarene this weekend in a key, four-game, Great Northwest Athletic Conference series.  The Yellowjackets enter the series with a 5-12 record and a 4-4 mark in conference play.  The Crusaders enter with a 10-11 record overall and a 4-4 record in conference play.  Both teams are tied for second in the league standings, one game behind league-leader Western Oregon.

Leading the way for the Yellowjackets this season is Jordan Kessler who leads the team with a .421 average in 11 games.  He is third on the team in hits with 16, second in doubles with five and leads the team with 11 runs batted in.  Jeff Ridgeway leads the team with 19 hits and six doubles.  Kevin Zukaitis leads the team with two home runs, while Jaret Chatwood has one.

As a team, the Jackets are hitting .290 on the year with 146 hits and 34 extra-base hits. The team is slugging .372 and has an on-base percentage of .352.  They have 30 doubles, one triple and three home runs.

On the bump, the Jackets are led by Archie Smith who is 1-1 on the year with a 3.18 ERA.  He has made four appearances with three starts, one complete game and one save.  Smith has pitched 17 innings with 10 strikeouts.  Kody Kennedy leads the team with a 2-0 record and carries a 4.150 ERA.  He has three starts with one complete game.  Kennedy also leads the team with 18 strikeouts and opponents are hitting just .164 against him. 

As a staff, the Jackets own an 8.47 ERA in 119 innings.  They have 95 strikeouts with 81 walks and 156 hits.  MSUB has surrendered 132 runs and 112 earned runs as the opponents are hitting .308.  30 Yellowjacket miscues have led to 20 unearned runs.

Last week, the Yellowjackets split at preseason GNAC favorite Western Oregon winning the nightcaps both days.  The Jackets struggled in the openers, but battled back for a 4-3 win and a 15-11 win.  Brian Dukart was named GNAC Player of the Week as he went 8 for 14 and setup the game winning run with a sacrifice bunt in the fifth inning in the second game of the series.

The Crusaders enter the week after taking three of four at Central Washington.  Prior to that, NNU had won just one of its last eight.

NNU is led by Jon Keller who leads the team with a .358 average.  He also leads the team with 29 hits, eight doubles and is tied for second in home runs with two.  He also leads the team with 19 RBI and is slugging a team-high .556.  Connor Rankin is second on the team in average at .333 and is second in hits with 24.  Joel Oliver leads the team with three home runs.

On the mound, the Crusaders are led by J.T. Brodrick with a 3.66 ERA.  He has 10 appearances and a 1-2 record.  Brodrick also leads the team with 21 strikeouts.  Keller is 2-2 on the year in six starts with a 6.75 ERA in a team-high 29.1 innings pitched. Jesse Gwaltney also is 2-2 with a 6.28 ERA and is second on the team in innings pitched with 28.2.

As a staff, the Crusaders carry a 5.51 ERA in 170 innings and have allowed 204 hits.  NNU has allowed 144 runs and 104 earned runs with 141 strikeouts and 101 walks.  31 Crusader errors have led to 40 unearned runs.

NNU and the Jackets are tied in the overall series 12-12.  The tied both in Billings and in Nampa at 6-6.  Last season, the Yellowjackets won seven of eight and have won eight of nine.

MSUB then returns home for its 2010 home opener scheduled for Friday, March 26, at 3 p.m. versus conference rival Central Washington at Dehler Park.